Thinking Pink – Thinking Big – Texas Style!

Mike Dewey, who lives in Dallas is offering $1Billion to whoever comes up with a cure for Breast Cancer. His wife is a survivor and his two daughters are at risk. 

Now, Mike does not exactly have $1Billion but has set up a website where he explains himself and is willing to take contributions. 

http://www.deweyfoundation.org

Hurricane Ike - Still Causing Misery

There is a very old expression, “After three days, fish starts to smell”. Hubby and I try to live by the motto. When we visit, we try to be there three days or less and when someone visits us, we try to make their visit last only three days. (With due respect, surely they would want to visit Houston, Dallas or Shreveport while they are here!) 

It is a simple fact of life that when we invite those from outside our immediate family to stay in our home, it wears very thin or as they say today, “It gets old”. We all do our very best to get along with our spouse and if we have children at home, with them too, of course. We have our quirks, our routines, our own ways. But we get used to each other. Or, we divorce. 

So, when people – either out of the kindness of their hearts or because they felt it was the “right thing to do” – invited friends and family into their homes to be sheltered from Ike, they learned. 

Hurricane Ike turned off the power in this area on Saturday and today, Thursday, in our own East Texas town, just about one-third of the population are still without electricity. Since those evacuees came here on Thursday or Friday, in some cases, “guests” have been here for one week now. 

Many people who have come here from the Texas Gulf Coast have not been given the word to go back home. Worse, some have nothing to go back to. 

In some large parking lots, there are vehicles which look as though they are parked there with evacuees living in them.

Hotels were filled long ago, people are running out of money and patience. 

Today’s newspaper relates strife and crime. Our streets are still full with drivers from other areas unsure of how to get places. Of course, there were traffic lights out of service and that was a real challenge! 

We still have many evacuee shelters; schools are closed (some being used for shelters, meals, etc.) and we still have National Guard at various parking lots doling out ice, bottled water and meal packs. 

Everywhere there are service trucks – electric, cable, telephone, clean-up, tree services. 

Some of the advice is not getting through because people who need to know what is going on have no way to hear the messages. People should be leaving their front porch lights on so workers will know when power is restored. Garbage may be put in re-cycle as well as regular barrels for pick-up. If you need some water, here is where to get it. Don’t mix tree limbs with bagged garbage. The city is organized, but not everyone is able to receive the word. 

Grocery stores and restaurants are to capacity. 

So, people are starting to smell like the fish out of water on the beach. Some figuratively, some literally! 

Worse, people are starting to hate the situation so bad, they are causing harm to others, as in stabbing, and in one case, two pots of boiling vegetables were hurled at in-laws. 

Our physiologists, social workers, firemen and policemen, maintenance people and government employees are now very much overworked. 

A good place for all of us with power is inside our homes and going out after dark is probably a very bad idea. 

Please, Dear God, let this come to an end and bring us all back to “normal”. 

[Ed.note: Even in a power outage, gas burners may be lit with a match and used for cooking.]

Be Prepared!

Well, the town is busy, some gas pumps are empty, and we’re a bit edgy. Even though people have been evacuated to our area, we ourselves must be prepared as Hurricane Gustav moves toward Texas. As noted yesterday, a big problem here is power outage, causing us to be pretty hot. Police had to be called to Wal-Mart in one town yesterday because chaos broke out at the bottled water display. Could that be why our supermarket has the water outside the front of the store? There must be some humor to this whole event!

One couple has gone up to Dallas to visit their son but I think they will likely be back by Monday. Another, whose home is in a mobile home park are on their way north to their daughter’s. So, they will be missing from church in the morning. Perhaps some out-of-towners will stop in to pray for themselves, their friends and what they left behind.

People from the Texas Gulf Coast are now headed here and the hotels and tourist homes are solidly booked. Some people will be here from Louisiana. So, it’s busy and a little rude out there.

We just came in from dinner at Catfish King and it seemed very loud there. On the loop, people were sort of rude and rushing. So, a good place to be is home.

We have everything we need and we will pray that as the branches fall during the high winds, that nothing falls on our house.

When people told me about gas stations running out of gas last night, I thought of Hubby and me on 9-11. Back then, I was not yet an American citizen and we were headed to Terre Haute, Indiana for Hubby’s college reunion. Hubby is that Engineer that my Daddy always said you needed for just about everything. (Daddy was right about that!)

As we were preparing to leave, we saw on TV what most people saw happening in New York City that day.

There was one specific thought that came to my mind and any of you from Toronto can relate to that thought.

When I was young, Dad always said if there was any threat, we would just get in the car and drive north.

Well, Daddy’s been gone 46 years and if we drive north from Texas, we’re still a long way from Canada’s northland.

So, what I went back for was my passport, because once you are in Indiana, well you could be headed north . . .

As we drove up the interstates, every time we would stop for gas, we would see signs that there was none or long lines of cars.

Long story short, we made it to Terre Haute and the reunion went on as usual.

When we arrived in Terre Haute (“High Land”), we went to the church Hubby attended when he was there and we prayed. And we read Psalm 91.

Although 9-11 is never forgotten, we made it through as did many others.

We will make it though this storm too – with good planning, a little luck and lots of praying.